The Sabon Scoop

Do It Yourself (DIY) Homemade Soap

Many people are choosing to go organic and create their own soap. The ingredients, fragrances, shapes and colors can all be controlled. And just like making a cake, you’ll need a recipe to follow.

The most important thing to realize is making soap can be dangerous if some basic safety procedures aren’t followed- like don’t get lye on your skin, use goggles and make sure to have proper ventilation. There are a million sites out there you can go to for instructions, but it basically boils down to a process.

Making soap is a two-step process. First you mix lye and water together and then add a mixture of oils. Lye and water get hot when mixed and must cool down before being added to the oil. Gently heat the oil. Both mixtures should be the same temperature or about 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Use the oil specified in your recipe and don’t replace it with another oil. If it tells you to use olive oil, use olive oil, and don’t replace it with any other oils such as grape seed oil or coconut oil. Blend lye and water mixture with the oil and stir. A blender will take a few minutes, but manually mixing it can take hours.

You will need a mold. A 9 x 13 cake pan lined with wax paper makes a great mold, but you can improvise with other containers. This will make a big block of soap. Wrap in heavy blankets and let sit for at least 24 hours. When the soap has set, cut it with a sharp knife into bars/pieces and store on brown paper in a cool place. Turn over after two weeks. Soap can be used after a month of cooling.

This is the simplest recipe to make soap. Many online sites and books are dedicated to this art. Unless you have a lot of time and patience, it might be best to find a natural soap you can buy in a store. Sabon uses a centuries old Australian recipe to make our soaps. They are hand-milled and come to the stores in blocks and are hand-cut for you. We have 60 different soaps in a variety of shapes and scents. Take home a few samples and find your favorite today.